Vintage Nepali Jyapu Farmer Dolls, 8” Tall (Set of 3)

These vintage dolls were most likely purchased in 1966-1967, when our mother was living in Nepal. They are hand carved from wood and dressed in traditional clothing of the Jyapu people of the Kathmandu Valley who were often depicted as farmers.
 
The woman carries a traditional conical ‘doko’ basket on her back. They are commonly made from bamboo or wicker, and used in Nepal for carrying heavy loads of everything from agricultural produce to firewood. For heavier loads, the person usually has a forehead strap, or ‘namlo’, to distribute the load. 
 
She also appears to have red tika powder in the split of her hair, suggesting she is a married woman.
 
The men both are using a ‘kharpan’, which is a shoulder pole holding balanced baskets on each end. This helps distribute the weight and is particularly useful for navigating steep trails. Besides agricultural produce, these would be used to carry firewood and livestock feed.
 
All three of our dolls have yellowed foxing on the wood stands, and all four wood carved ‘kharpan’ baskets have the same. Cleaning them should not be difficult however. We will send instructions with any order of this item. 
 
Three of the four baskets have come off the ends of the poles and need to be reattached either temporarily (as we did for photos) or carefully, imitating the knotting method on the one original still attached.
 
Otherwise these dolls are in surprisingly good condition for their age, their clothing and faces as if new. 
 
H 8-8 1/4” x L 3-5” x D 2 1/2=3 1/2”
8.96 oz (254g)
 
Disclaimer: We have tried to make sure colors shown in photos are representative of the real colors of each item. We have tried to identify all imperfections in descriptions, but we may have missed some. If you are unhappy with your purchase, let us know.